A New Shock Treatment, and its Victims

In her New York Times bestselling book, “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,” award-winning journalist Naomi Klein explains how politicians exploit catastrophes — Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks among others — and the public’s state of shock to push through costly policies, regardless of the consequences. In a talk at the Graduate Center with Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography Neil Smith, Ms. Klein, who worked as a freelancer in Iraq, claims the will of free-marketers is so strong, that if natural or financial disasters fail to happen, economists and policy makers help precipitate one.Listen Now>>